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WINNIPEG -- The injury-plagued Winnipeg Jets will attempt to pull themselves back into contention for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they host the Colorado Avalanche at MTS Centre.

After a 6-3 road loss Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens, the Avalanche made the journey to Winnipeg. They did not hold a morning skate after arriving early Wednesday.

Colorado is 4-3-0 in the second game played on consecutive days, but the Jets don't see the Avalanche's schedule factoring too greatly into their matchup Wednesday night.

"You can't expect a team to be a little slower or a little tired when they have back-to-back games," said Jets center Bryan Little, whose team is 3-4-0 against teams playing for the second time in 24 hours.

The Stars hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference in their bid to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2008. Dallas owns a six-point advantage on Winnipeg and two games in hand when they begin a three-game road trip this week.

"It seems like every game is desperation time for us [and] for [Winnipeg]," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said after the morning skate. "We realize as a team where [Winnipeg is] at, and I think they look at this game as do-or-die and a chance to move up against a team that is in a playoff spot."

The Stars expect to have center Cody Eakin back in the lineup. Eakin missed the Stars' 4-3 shootout loss at home against the Calgary Flames on Friday with a lower-body injury.

WINNIPEG -- The New York Rangers need points to tighten their grip on a Stanley Cup Playoff spot in the Eastern Conference spot while the Winnipeg Jets simply need points to remain in contention in the Western Conference.

The teams play at MTS Centre on Friday looking to halt recent skids.

The Rangers arrived after a 2-1 road loss against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday needing to improve on a 4-5-1 record in their past 10 games. This game will end a three-game road trip that is 0-2-0 so far.

The Canucks arrived Tuesday off a 7-4 home loss against the New York Islanders when they surrendered a 3-0 lead and allowed seven third-period goals.

The Canucks will not have any time to dwell on the loss when they attempt to stay in the Western Conference race for a wild-card spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Canucks and Jets sit at 68 points, six points behind the Dallas Stars for the second wild-card spot. The Jets hold a game in hand on the Canucks. The Phoenix Coyotes, who have 73 points, also separate the Canucks and Jets from Dallas.

The Canucks opted to not hold a morning skate Wednesday. Canucks forward Zack Kassian will serve the final of his three-game suspension for his hit on Stars defenseman Brenden Dillon on March 6.

A four-game losing streak (0-2-2) has put the Jets in a desperate situation and undone some of the progress of an 11-3-1 run after coach Paul Maurice replaced Claude Noel on Jan. 12.

"We need both points right now," center Bryan Little said of the Jets, who lost 3-2 in overtime Monday at the Colorado Avalanche. "The teams that we are chasing are playing well and winning games. You look at the standings and they're starting to get a bit of a gap on us. Every game is big and we need two points."

The Kings, who have won five games in a row, acquired Gaborik on Wednesday in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Matt Frattin, a second- or third-round pick in the 2014 or 2015 NHL Draft, and a conditional pick in either 2014 or 2015.

Gaborik, who had six goals and eight assists in 22 games with Columbus this season, arrived in Winnipeg and joined his new teammates for their morning skate at MTS Centre.

Left wing Thomas Vanek may also be on the move leading into the NHL Trade Deadline on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.

Though the Islanders have a game to play against the Jets, they have not been able to seal off their dressing room completely from the trade talk that is dominating television and radio as they begin their four-game journey through Western Canada this week.

"The bottom line is that you have to try not to think about it, it's really out of your control at this point," Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic said after the team's morning skate at MTS Centre. "If management is going to make a move, they're going to make a move. You try not to worry about it, but as a player it definitely looms over your head."

WINNIPEG -- The final push to what the Phoenix Coyotes and Winnipeg Jets hope is a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April begins Thursday when the teams meet at MTS Centre.

The Coyotes own a two-point lead on the Jets in the Western Conference postseason chase and remain one point behind the Vancouver Canucks for a wild-card spot. Coach Dave Tippett's Coyotes, who will play Friday at the Colorado Avalanche, also hold two games in hand on the Jets.

"Anybody that is in the race, they're talking about the same things," Tippett said after the Coyotes' morning skate. "A short season is coming, and everybody has to play [in] a playoff mode. The teams that do it successfully are going to get in."

The Canucks have lost two games in a row and are trying to fend off four teams, including the Jets, chasing them for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"Right now, we're facing what every team goes through at some point in the year," said right wing Alexandre Burrows, who has not scored a goal this season in 23 games. "Right now, we're in it. But we're sticking together. We're 20 guys who are going to push together to get out of it, and we're confident that we're going to get it done."

Kane sustained the hand injury Jan. 7 in a fight with Eric Brewer of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kane missed four games with the injury before returning for the revitalized Jets' past four games.

Chris Thorburn will take Kane's place on the Jets' second line with Blake Wheeler and rookie center Mark Scheifele. Wheeler, who leads the team with 21 goals, sat out the morning skate Tuesday but will play against the Predators.

"It's a really unfortunate setback for [Kane]. For our team but certainly for him because I liked the way he was coming and going and we're going to miss him," coach Paul Maurice said of Kane's injury.

The Jets are 4-1-0 since Maurice replaced Claude Noel on Jan. 12, the only blemish on their record a 1-0 road loss against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. The loss at San Jose ended the Jets' four-game winning streak, which had tied a season-best.

While defensive struggles plagued the Jets all season with Noel running the Jets, they have tightened up using adjustments that Maurice has made. The Jets have allowed eight goals in Maurice's five-game tenure.

The Jets have taken well to Maurice, but the coaching veteran of 1,089 NHL games explained Saturday after the team's morning skate that he is still learning his team.

"It's a hard question to answer," Maurice replied when asked how well he knows his new roster. "I'm not there yet. It's going to take a while. I probably won't get to truly understand each individual by the end of the year. It takes time."

But Jets center Bryan Little, who had two goals and six assists in his past five games before the loss at San Jose, believes that the Jets' mindset has changed with Maurice.

"He has kind of made it clear that we need to be a defense-first team," Little said. "You look at a lot of the good teams in the League, and they're all tough to play against, and they're all tough to get chances against. They're all good defensive teams, and I think we're finally finding out – or finally buying in – that we need to shut the other team down before we can worry about scoring goals."

He's only 17 but he can see the ice so well and he moves the puck and goes to the open ice all the time, so I just think he's a player that is ready to play in the NHL. I'm really looking forward to coaching someone like this.

— U.S. National Junior Team coach Ron Wilson on Auston Matthews, the projected No. 1 pick of the 2016 NHL Draft